Princeton University

Nassau Notes

West and Jakes to discuss issues facing churches

Renowned evangelist and author Bishop T.D. Jakes and Princeton professor Cornel West will discuss “Preachers, Profits and the Prophetic: The New Face of American Evangelicalism” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the University Chapel.

The event is part of the “Conversations” lecture series, in which leading public intellectuals engage a faculty member from the University’s Program in African-American Studies to delve deeply into political, artistic and social issues facing America.

“This dialogue is an opportunity for many of us to hear and to process how these two towering figures understand their Christian witness in these trying times,” said religion professor Eddie Glaude, acting director of the Program in African-American Studies. “It offers a chance for many of us not only to endure the moment, but to respond to it with vigor.”

Jakes is the pastor of The Potter’s House, a multiracial nondenominational church with more than 30,000 members in Dallas. Named by Time magazine as one of America’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals,” Jakes has been heralded as a ministerial visionary and philanthropist.

West is the Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion and a prolific author. His best-selling books, “Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters,” have brought into the national spotlight his declared mission of promoting racial equity and recognition of democracy as a spiritual force.

“We want a critical and respectful dialogue about pressing issues facing Christian churches in our time,” West said. “The conversation should resonate across the student body, with church folk around the area and across the state itself.”

Talk focuses on evangelicals and American politics

A lecture on “Evangelicals and American Politics: Assessing the Past, Scouting the Future” is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, in 16 Robertson Hall.

The lecture will be delivered by Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Cromartie’s work focuses on Christianity and politics, the evangelical church in America, media coverage of religion and the religious right.

In September 2004, Cromartie was nominated by President Bush for a two-year term on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He has been a host of a weekly radio show called “Faith and Life,” an adjunct professor at the Reformed Theological Seminary and an adviser to Christianity Today and the PBS documentary series “With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Christian Right in America.”

The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Center for the Study of Religion. It is part of the “Crossroads of Religion and Politics” series.

McCarter Theatre concert

British folk-rock icon Richard Thompson will return to McCarter Theatre for his annual fall concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25.

For more than three decades, Thompson has consistently set songwriting and performance standards. Acknowledged both as a sensitive writer and an innovative guitarist, he was placed among the “top 20” of the World’s 100 Greatest Guitarists by Rolling Stone magazine in fall 2003. Tickets are available through the McCarter box office at 258-2787 or online at www.mccarter.org. (Photo: Ron Sleznak)

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright to speak

Paula Vogel, who won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for drama, will discuss “The Playworld and the Empire: The 21st Century and the American Playwright” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

Vogel’s play “How I Learned to Drive” is a tale of child abuse and the persistence of memory. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, it won several other awards including an Obie (her second), the Lortel Best Play Award, the Best Off-Broadway Play from the Outer Critics Circle, the Best Play from the Drama Desk and the Best Play from the New York Drama Critics Circle. It has been produced around the world, and Vogel currently is working on a screenplay for HBO.

Also the winner of a Guggenheim and several National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, Vogel has written many other plays, including “The Long Christmas Ride Home,” “The Mineola Twins,” “The Baltimore Waltz,” “Hot’N’Throbbing,” “Desdemona” and “The Oldest Profession.” She currently is the Adele Kellenberg Seaver Professor of Creative Writing at Brown University, where she directs the MFA playwriting program.

The talk, designated as the Spencer Trask Lecture, is part of the University’s Public Lecture Series.

Princeton University Concerts

Princeton University Concerts will present the celebrated Borodin String Quartet at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. The all-Russian program will include quartets by Miaskovsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. Tickets are available through the Richardson box office at 258-5000.

Nonproliferation is topic for Oct. 26

Frank Miller, a former senior director for defense policy and arms control in President Bush’s National Security Council, will speak on “Nuclear Nonproliferation in an Age of Terror” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Miller is vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Cohen Group, an international consulting firm. He joined the firm in March 2005 after 31 years of service in the federal government.

While serving on Bush’s National Security Council, Miller was responsible for policy initiatives in nuclear deterrence, strategic arms reductions, national space policy, defense trade reform, land mines and transforming the American and NATO militaries. He previously held numerous senior positions in the Department of Defense.

Miller earned an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1971. His lecture is sponsored by the Wilson School and the Office of Graduate Career Services.

Panel explores secrets of human identity

A panel discussion on “How We Look” will explore the secrets of human identity at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

The panelists are: Eric Wieschaus, Princeton’s Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology and a Nobel laureate; Ariel Ruiz i Altaba, an artist and molecular embryologist at the University of Geneva Medical School; and Mark Kessell, a photographer and former physician.

The discussion is being held in conjunction with an exhibit of works by Altaba and Kessell, also titled “How We Look,” in the Bernstein Gallery in Robertson Hall.

The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Post VP speaks on First Amendment

The First Amendment in the 21st Century” is the focus of a talk by Patrick Butler, a vice president of the Washington Post Co., scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Butler focuses on public policy, new business development and special corporate projects for the Washington Post Co., where he has worked since 1994. He also is president of the company’s Newsweek Productions unit, supervising the production of nonfiction television programming for public television and cable networks. Butler previously served as vice president of Newsweek and Legi-Slate, which provides online government and regulatory information.

Butler also has been a vice president of the Times Mirror Co. and president of his own consulting firm, with clients including President Reagan and other major political figures and corporations. A former journalist, Butler also was a speechwriter for President Ford and worked in various capacities for former Sen. Howard Baker of Tennessee.

The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and is part of a series of events celebrating the school’s 75th anniversary.

Lecture examines purpose of WTO

Bruce Malashevich, an expert on international trade issues, will examine the role of the World Trade Organization in a lecture scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in 2 Robertson Hall.

Malashevich, a 1974 graduate of Princeton, is president and chief executive officer of the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Consulting Services LLC, which works with a range of multinational corporations on trade issues. He has served in both the U.S. State and Treasury departments.

The lecture is titled “The World Trade Organization: What Is Its Purpose? How Well Is It Performing? Why the Current Malaise? A Business-Oriented Perspective.” It is sponsored by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies.

Annual Vendor Fair scheduled for Nov. 1

The purchasing department will sponsor the 11th annual Vendor Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, in Dillon Gym.

Those attending will be able to view a variety of products and services offered by many of the University’s contract vendors. Free gifts, door prizes and refreshments will be provided.